Gathered All I Had
by futurerustfuture-dust
Summary: Steve can't believe that Natasha's never thrown a football before, and Nat's not about to give up any opportunity to have Steve Rogers' body pressed close to hers. Mild Winter Soldier spoilers


Steve couldn't believe it when she'd told him that she had never played football, or even so much as held one in her hand. They'd been relaxing in his newly recovered apartment, Steve having put down his book to look longingly at the spring day, and had made an offhand comment about missing the times when he and Buck had played pass the pigskin when they were growing up. Buck had always been good at not throwing too hard, while Steve, scrawny guy that he was, had had to put everything he'd had into it so that the ball would even make it near his best friend. It'd never lasted long, but it'd always been fun. Nat smiled over at him as he reminisced before giving the offhand comment that had brought the super soldier to his feet, eyes disbelieving as he shrugged on his jacket and explained to her that he was gonna teach her a thing or two about it.

He'd insisted on walking to the nearest park, at least a half an hour away by foot, not that Nat minded, and with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, the football under the other, she found that she was smiling easier than she had in some time. Certainly easier than it had been since the madness with SHIELD and the Winter Soldier. As they walked he regaled her with stories of when he and Bucky had gotten into a scrap because some of the bigger neighborhood boys had stolen their football, and Steve, never knowing when to back down, had gotten his backside handed to him by the ring leader. Bucky had blackened the kids eye for beating on Steve, and in the commotion that followed Steve managed to snag the football and the two had gotten away before the others realized what had happened.

Bucky's ma had called him a great fool for that as she'd pressed a pack of ice to his swollen eye, Steve having stayed over with them while his own mother worked a double, but that night, after she'd gone to bed and the pair of them had bunked out on the floor, the threadbare cushions sinking beneath their familiar weight, they'd recounted the victory. Steve had considered his smarting eye a sort of battle scar, and Bucky, grin full teeth and pride, hadn't corrected him.

The park was kids too young to go to school, their mothers or nanny's having brought them out to enjoy the sunshine and the surprisingly warm weather, and their cries of joy as they played on the swings, slides, and in the sand filled the warm breeze. It reminded Nat of summertime, and she shrugged off the coat she'd thought she might need as they came to a small clearing. Steve did the same, tossing it to the ground before stepping closer to Nat. She found her breath subconsciously catching in her throat as he stood behind her.

"Can I?" He asked, voice quiet, looking unsure. Always the gentleman.

She shrugged, playing it off. "Sure."

His wide hands found her hips and gently situated them, and though she checked in the corner of his eye there wasn't the faintest trace of a blush in sight as he squared her shoulders, murmured for her to bend her knees slightly, and adjusted her arms. His warm hands covered hers on the ball, slotting them into position, and she tried not to focus on how hot the day suddenly had become. And where was that drumming coming from?

Oh. Her chest. That made sense.

His hips aligned with hers as he brought her hand back, lips brushing against her ears as he took her through the motion she'd need to make, how to snap her wrist so that the ball would get a better spin on it, and how the rest of her body would need to move with it. They practiced the motion a couple more times until it no longer felt so foreign, and on the fifth pass her murmured for her to let it go. The ball sailed from her fingertips only to drop a couple yards away. She snorted.

"Well that was anticlimactic," she teased, grinning back at him and glad to find that he was smiling as well. She tried not to look too disappointed when he pulled away from her to go grab the ball, tossing it back to her. She watched the ball perfectly spiral towards her, all but landing in her hands without her having to do much. Damn.

"You know, you make it really difficult to learn new things when you're so perfect at it all," she teased, trying to replicate the same position he'd shown her before. This time it flew a little farther before dropping down, Steve only having to move a little ways to get it. His laugh lifted her spirits.

"Yeah, well it didn't always used to be like that," he reminded her with an easy grin and another pass. He told her to go long, and when she looked confused he snorted and filled her in on the term, chucking the ball so she had to sprint in order to catch it. They were at least fifty or so yards away, and she blinked a couple times. Well, it was do or die time she supposed, grasping the ball once more and throwing it with as much force as she could muster. If nothing else at least she was strong, but the spin on the ball was decent enough, and Steve only had to veer a little to the left in order to catch it.

"Nice!" He complimented, voice carrying on the light breeze. "Knew you could do it."

She rolled her eyes, but inside she glowed at the compliment. They kept going for the next hour or so until Nat's arm began to ache and Steve called it a day, grinning and wiping his forehead. Nat tried not to stare at the way his shirt had begun to cling, secretly pleased that they'd stopped before she had to work to stop focusing on the definition beneath. It didn't matter that she'd seen him in his suit, and that it fit him like a glove with little left to the imagination. There was something about seeing him in his civvies, sweating and grinning like an every-day Joe, hanging out in the park and throwing the football, that got her heart beating a little bit faster, heated her blood up just a little more. She had to pull herself out of her own head as he offered to pay for lunch, promising the best she'd ever had at a diner that'd been around since he and Bucky had been kids, and this time his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close as they walked down the street, jackets slung over their back, Steve's body warm and comfortable and perfect against hers.

* * *

A/N: The idea just kinda popped into my head, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! =]


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